Yield shear stress and disaggregating shear stress of human blood

Abstract

This review presents two distinct rheological parameters of blood that have the potential to indicate blood circulation adequacy: yield shear stress (YSS) and disaggregating shear stress (DSS). YSS and DSS reflect the strength of red blood cell (RBC) aggregation in suspension under static and dynamic conditions, respectively. YSS, defined as the critical stress to disperse RBC aggregates under static conditions, was found to be dependent upon hematocrit, fibrinogen, and red cell deformability, but not temperature. DSS, defined as the minimum shear stress to disperse RBC aggregates under dynamic conditions, is dependent upon fibrinogen, red cell deformability, and temperature but not hematocrit. Owing to recent advances in measurement technology, these two parameters can be easily measured, and thus, their clinical significance in blood circulation can be verified.